Miramar Air Show 2011

New Photos Added 10/8/11: Here are some more images from the MCAS Miramar Air Show 2011. One of the first planes up on Friday was the B-25 Mitchell bomber. This particular aircraft was built in 1944-45, and has been restored to its original condition, complete with operable bomb bay and a Norden bombsight.

After watching the B-25 we decided to walk around the static exhibits for a bit, including climbing inside an MV-22a Osprey. Here's the cockpit. Looks complicated.

The Marines keep a rescue helo fired up and ready to go immediately.

The Air Force brought out an F-16 Viper.

Here's a shot of the Heritage Flight - an F-16 Viper along side a WWII-ear P-51 Mustang.

After the F-16 it was time for the F/A-18 Super Hornet. That's condensing water vapor, not smoke, coming off the wings.

I didn't quite get the full donut-shaped ring of vapor when the F/A-18 got up to just below Mach 1, but I came close. I saw it clearly with my eyes, which meant that my camera didn't get it. Oh well, it was still fun to see it that close. The bright sun produced all sorts of color effects in the vapor.

The Navy called this one a Legacy Flight - an F/A-18 Super Hornet along side an F-6F Hellcat from WWII.

All in all it was a great day to be out at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar with a bunch of friends and a whole lot to see.

If you scroll further down this page I have separate posts for the Blue Angels, the Oracle Challenger Bi-Plane, and the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) demonstration, each with links to their own galleries with more images.


Click here to see more images from the MCAS Miramar Air Show 2011. Note that these are not the same pictures as in the galleries linked in the other posts.